Road to Omaha – Wake Forest Demon Deacons
By Brandon McDermott, KVNO News
May 23rd, 2017
On this episode of “Road to Omaha,” KVNO’s Brandon McDermott interviews Wake Forest head coach Tom Walter.
Tom Walter, in his eighth year as head coach at Wake Forest, led the Demon Deacons to an overall record of 38-17 and 19-11 record in conference. Wake Forest also beat Coastal Carolina, reigning College World Series champions, twice.
Wake had a tough series with #2 Louisville this year, losing two out of three games – but all three games were decided by 1 run.
The Demon Deacons have 4 of the top 11 hitters in the ACC – based on batting average. Walter said his hitters have helped alleviate stress from the teams’ pitchers.
Outfielder Stuart Fairchild has a .610 slugging percentage with 13 home-runs, 15 doubles and 55 RBI. Walter calls Fairchild a 5-tool player who impacts the game in so many ways.
“He has no weaknesses. When he is going good, you can’t get him out,†Walter said.
Walter also talked baseball theory. When it comes to judging a team, Coach Walter says looking solely at batting average to judge a team is misleading. He likes on base percentage and on-base plus slugging (OPS) more so on getting a better take on a team’s offensive ability.
They will face off against 10th-seed Georgia Tech Wednesday at 7 p.m. Then, Wake Forest will play sixth-seed Miami Thursday at 3 p.m.
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